Study after study confirms what we may have thought all along: We have a strong, innate need to be close and connected to another person.

A secure connection to our beloved gives us confidence in the outside world, we can better handle life's inevitable challenges and we are more comfortable seeking our partner's support when needed. We are even more open to new experiences and we are more confident in ourselves.

It's sad, but the fastest-growing trend in divorce is by people age 50 and older, hence the recent term "gray divorce."

While the overall US divorce rate has remained stable or even with a slight decline, the divorce rate for couples middle-aged and older has doubled in the past 20 years. In 1990, fewer than 1 in 10 people over 50 divorced. Today, one in four couples divorcing is age 50 or older.

Sex is a vital component of a secure, healthy relationship. Intimacy provides important physical and emotional connection.

As a therapist who specializes in marriage and relationship counseling, I help my couples understand that secure, emotionally connected intimacy typically is most satisfying -- and there's research studies to back this up.

Unfortunately, when the relationship becomes strained and distressed with arguing and/or greater distancing, intimacy most often declines, sometimes becoming non-existent.

It's impossible not to hurt our partner's feelings from time to time: Missteps and misunderstandings happen in all relationships -- Things we say, don't say; do, don't do; or forgetting something important to our partner. So, forgiveness is an essential part of a healthy relationship.

Unlike other couples-therapy approaches, Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy gets to the “heart” of the disconnection and distance between you. We go beneath the surface to discover the unmet needs in the relationship, to heal any past hurts, to resurface the unique strengths of your relationship and to help you understand your partner in a way that helps each of you powerfully reconnect and remain close into the future.

Emotionally Focused Couple therapy offers these unique advantages:

It’s a brief model. Couples usually begin noticing and feeling a difference in the first phase of the process.

You’ll learn that the “negative cycle” of arguing or disconnection is to blame for your disagreements and distance – not either of you!

Change can be lasting. Research shows that many couples report continued improvement after counseling has ended.